by Kay Correll
“That’s nonsense. You don’t owe them this. It’s time you quit blaming yourself for their accident.”
Sophie looked at Beth in surprise. She’d never mentioned the guilt she felt all these years, but somehow Beth knew, which shouldn’t surprise her in the least. Sometimes she’d swear that Beth knew her better than she knew herself.
“Sophie, fate is cruel sometimes. Bad things happen to good people. You might have been killed too if you’d gone with them. It was an accident. We can spend our whole lives regretting decisions, but it doesn’t change them. Your parents would never blame you for what happened and never want you to feel obligated to run the gallery.”
“But—”
Beth shot her a look she usually reserved for scolding Trevor and Connor. “I’m sorry, but weren’t you the one who told me that I should do what was right for me when I was trying to decide about pulling out of the race for mayor?”
“That was different.”
“How?”
Sophie gave her friend a weak smile. “Because it was advice for you?”
“Nice try, Soph.”
“Anyway, I know that Chase wanted to go out solo. So me staying here and running the gallery works out the best for everyone.”
“Sophie, we get one chance at life. It’s our responsibility to make the very best out of every opportunity thrown our way.” Beth pinned her a listen-to-me-I’m-the-teacher look. “At least think about it.”
Chase slammed around the cabin, packing up his things once again. He threw his clothes on the bed in the general direction of his suitcase. He let at least ten calls from Sam go to voicemail. He wasn’t ready to talk to him. Maybe he’d never be ready.
Sam wanted Chase and Sophie to sing.
And that was never going to happen. Sophie had made that clear; she’d made her choice.
He also had to come to grips with the fact he was never going to make it as a solo act. And that had been his goal for two years. He never wanted to be dependent on someone else for his success.
Never. Ever.
So he was fine with her saying no. Saying she had to stay in Sweet River Falls and run the gallery.
Fine with it. Just fine.
And yet, it seemed like his driving need to be a solo act lessened when he sang with Sophie.
He loved watching her sing.
Loved seeing the joy on her face when they did a duet.
He loved…
He sat down abruptly when the air was suddenly sucked from his lungs and the room spun around him.
He loved…
He loved her.
Now the question was, was he going to do anything about it?
Chapter 27
Chase’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door to his cabin. He climbed off the bed and went to answer it.
“Hello, son.”
“Mom.” She was the last person he’d expected to see.
“I heard you were staying out here at Sweet River Lodge, and this nice lady at the desk—I think her name was Nora—told me what cabin you were staying in when I told her I was your mother.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d see you again.”
“Well, I hope that we can keep in touch. I’d like to stay part of your life if you’ll let me.” She looked at him. “Maybe I could come hear you and Sophie sing again.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” A darkness passed over her face and her eyes clouded. “I don’t want to intrude on your life. I can’t blame you if you don’t want to see me.” She turned to leave.
He reached out his hand to stop her. “No, Mom, it’s not that.”
She turned to look at him. “What’s wrong, son?”
“I… Sophie doesn’t want to sing with me. She feels she needs to stay here and run the gallery. It’s a long story but it’s all about responsibilities and guilt.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you two were brilliant together. I also thought… Well, I thought maybe she had a bit of a crush on you. And honestly, by the way you looked at her, I thought you cared about her, too.”
“You some kind of mind reader?” He scowled. “I’ve just come to that same conclusion myself. I do care about her. I care a lot.”
“Have you told her that?”
“I don’t think it would change things. She has to do what she has to do.”
“I think you should go talk to her. Tell her how you feel. You don’t want to live to regret a decision you made…”
He wasn’t sure if she was talking about his decision or her decision to leave all those years ago.
“Guilt is a hard thing to live with. We all deal with it in different ways. You say she feels guilt? Maybe you can help her deal with it. Maybe she just needs someone to believe in her and help her to forgive herself. It’s very hard to learn to forgive.”
“You been saving up motherly advice for all these years?”
She gave him a small smile. “All I want is for you to be happy. I think she makes you happy.”
“When she isn’t driving me crazy.”
She smiled again. “Go talk to her.”
He reached inside and grabbed his keys off the table by the door. “Okay, I’ve always heard a person should listen to their mother.”
“They should.”
He started down the stairs and turned back. “Mom, you going to still be around town for a bit?”
“If you want me to be.”
“I do.”
“Then I’ll stay as long as you need me.”
For the first time in a very long time, he felt the love of his mother, her support. And she was right, it was very hard to learn to forgive. Forgive yourself, forgive others. He was going to try his best to find a way to forgive his mother and see if they could build some kind of relationship.
“Wish me luck.” He grinned at his mother, and his heart sprang with new hope. Hope about Sophie, hope about a new beginning with his mother.
“Good luck, son.”
Beth and Sophie headed downstairs to the gallery. Sophie wasn’t sure she was ready to take Beth’s advice. She had so many unresolved feelings about her parents’ accident. So much guilt. How did a person ever get over that? The guilt over a decision they’d made that had such far-reaching consequences?
“Sophie, there you are.” Hunt and Keely came walking up to them.
“Guess what?” Keely was practically beaming.
“What?” Sophie pulled herself away from the thoughts brewing in her head.
“We just leased a cabin up near Grace’s Peak for the next year,” Hunt announced.
“Here in Sweet River Falls?” Beth looked surprised.
“Yep. Going to make it our home base for a while. I’m going to be working on a photography project with the mountain area. We wanted a bit of a change.” Hunt shrugged. “So, we decided to stay.”
“And I fell in love with the town.” Keely smiled.
“That’s fabulous.” Sophie reached out to take Keely’s hand. “We’ll love having you here.”
“I was hoping to place more of my work here at the gallery.”
“I’d love that.”
“Only Sophie may be making changes to the gallery.” Beth gave her a isn’t-that-right look.
Sophie frowned at her.
“What kind of changes?” Hunt asked.
“Well, she’s been offered a chance to sing with Chase Green.”
“That’s so exciting.” Keely squeezed Sophie’s hand.
“But I’m not sure…”
Melissa walked up to them. “Seriously, you know that I can hear everything you’re saying, right? I think that’s wonderful that you have the chance to sing. I know that’s what really makes you happy.”
“But—”
“I can run the gallery when you’re on the road. I know the business side from working with your mother. I don’t have her eye for art, but I do know the business side.”
“I’d be glad to help out
too. Have you ever considered taking on a partner? I know this friend of ours who owns a gallery on Belle Island near Lighthouse Point. He’s invested in a few galleries around the country. I bet he’d love this one.” Hunt swept his gaze around the gallery.
Sophie tried to take in all the talk whirling around her.
“Paul Clark. I could talk to him. He married a lady from Comfort Crossing where we’re from.”
“But, my parents… it was their dream…”
“You could still keep the name Brooks Gallery. He’d just be able to help with acquiring new art when you’re gone. I’ll put him in touch with you if you’d like.”
“Hey, and I’ll be looking for a part-time job while we’re here if you need some more help,” Keely added.
Beth looked at her triumphantly. “See, everything works out the way it’s supposed to be. Sometimes the universe gives you opportunities that you never expected. I think it’s trying to nudge you in the right direction. Now all you have to do is decide to take a chance. Go for it.”
Sophie grinned at her very best friend in the whole wide world and hugged her. “You’re the best.”
“Of course I am. I live to help you make good choices.”
Sophie let go of Beth. “I need to find Chase. Tell him I’ve changed my mind. I want to sing with him.”
“While you’re there you might want to tell him you love him, too.” Beth looked at her pointedly.
A wide grin spread across her face. “Yes, I probably should tell him that, too.”
Sophie hurried out the door and ran right into the hard chest of Chase Green. She struggled to catch her breath as he reached out his hands to steady her.
“Sophie, I—”
“Chase, I was—”
“You first this time.” He looked down at her and nodded.
She looked straight into his eyes and gathered her courage, sure of her decision. Her heart pounded, and she took a deep breath. “If you still want to… if you want me…”
“I do want you, Sophie. More than you know. And not just as my singing partner. If you can’t leave here, if you don’t want to sing with me, I understand. We’ll work it out. But I don’t want to lose you.”
“But that’s what I was coming to tell you.”
“Tell me what?” He cocked his head.
“I was coming to say that if you want me to sing with you, then, yes. That’s what I want, too. I love singing with you, Chase, I really do. It makes me happy and fulfills me in ways I never thought possible.”
“All righty then.” He scooped her up and swung her around, her feet flying off the sidewalk in a dizzying spin. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day. All year. Maybe in my whole life.”
He finally set her back down, and the world still spun crazily around her. She just wasn’t sure if it was because of his twirls or the chaos of her emotions.
She reached out and steadied herself on his arm. “But I know you really wanted to try and sing solo…”
He shrugged. “Life throws us curves. Plans change, Sophie. I’d rather have you singing by my side than ever sing solo. You get music. How it feels to sing the songs. It moves you like it moves me. It would make me ridiculously happy if you’d sing with me, become my partner.”
“Okay, but one more thing, Chase Green.” She grinned at him, her heart soaring.
“What’s that?” He eyed her with his silly lopsided grin.
“I’ve fallen in love with you.”
His eyes widened and he scooped her up in a twirl again. “Now, that’s the best thing I’ve heard in my whole life. For sure.”
“Your whole entire life?”
“Yep. And guess what?”
“What?”
“I love you, too, Sophie Brooks. Very much.”
He set her down on the sidewalk, then leaned down and kissed her right there in broad daylight on Main Street in Sweet River Falls.
And suddenly, all was right with her world, and she kissed him right back.
Dear Reader - I hope you enjoyed this story in the Sweet River series. If you want to read about how the characters Hunt and Keely met, check out The Magnolia Cafe in the Comfort Crossing series. (Or start at the beginning of that series with the free series starter The Shop on Main.) Look for more books in the Sweet River series in the coming months.
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As always, thanks for reading my stories. I truly appreciate all my readers.
Also by Kay Correll
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Comfort Crossing ~ The Series
Did you miss the start of this series? Click here to get the first book for free now! The Shop on Main - Book One
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See all my books at my website.
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COMFORT CROSSING ~ THE SERIES
The Shop on Main - Book One
The Memory Box - Book Two
The Christmas Cottage - A Holiday Novella (Book 2.5)
The Letter - Book Three
The Christmas Scarf - A Holiday Novella (Book 3.5)
The Magnolia Cafe - Book Four
The Unexpected Wedding - Book Five
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The Wedding in the Grove (crossover short story between series - Josephine and Paul from The Letter.)
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LIGHTHOUSE POINT ~ THE SERIES
Wish Upon a Shell - Book One
Wedding on the Beach - Book Two
Love at the Lighthouse - Book Three
Cottage near the Point - Book Four
Return to the Island - Book Five
Bungalow by the Bay - Book Six
Click here to learn more about the series.
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SWEET RIVER ~ THE SERIES
A Dream to Believe In - Book One
A Memory to Cherish - Book Two
A Song to Remember - Book Three
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INDIGO BAY ~ a multi-author series of sweet romance
Sweet Sunrise - Book Three
Sweet Holiday Memories - A short holiday story
Sweet Starlight - Book Nine
About the Author
Kay writes sweet, heartwarming stories that are a cross between women’s fiction and contemporary romance. She is known for her charming small towns, quirky townsfolk, and enduring strong friendships between the women in her books.
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Kay lives in the Midwest of the U.S. and can often be found out and about with her camera, taking a myriad of photographs which she likes to incorporate into her book covers. When not lost in her writing or photography, she can be found spending time with her ever-supportive husband, knitting, or playing with her puppies—two cavaliers and one naughty but adorable Australian shepherd. Kay and her husband also love to travel. When it comes to vacation time, she is torn between a nice trip to the beach or the mountains—but the mountains only get considered in the summer—she swears she’s allergic to snow.
Learn more about Kay and her books at kaycorrell.com
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